Industry Thinks President Trump Will Be “Bitcoin Friendly” Ahead of Cybersecurity Order

According to an attendee of private Bitcoin conclave Satoshi Roundtable III, both a congresswoman and CEO of Overstock Patrick Byrne believe President Trump, mired in a web of controversy in the US and globally, will be “bitcoin friendly” — even as a sweeping draft executive order on the nation’s cybersecurity framework awaits his signature.

Congresswoman Addresses Trump at Bitcoin Meeting

According to OpenBazaar founder Brian Hoffman, the special guest for day one of the Cancun retreat called the Satoshi Roundtable was a congresswoman who gave the gathering a “rundown of what to expect” from the Trump Administration regarding Bitcoin and blockchain.

“She had met with Trump personally and seemed very optimistic that he was going to do a good job,” he said. “Crazy like a fox, not crazy is how she characterized him.”

Mr. Hoffman also recounted Overstock and T0 founder Patrick Byrne’s thoughts on the new president. “He reinforced the opinion of the Congressman that Trump’s cabinet seemed to be somewhat Bitcoin-friendly, but differed in that he thought Trump was probably crazy and not like a fox.” February 1 the CEO appeared on Fox Business channel wearing a red “Make Bitcoin Great Again” a la Trump campaign apparel.

The comments leaked from the private Satoshi Roundtable just days before the President delayed the signing of a cybersecurity executive order. (EO)

A draft of the EO outlines a mandate for the “national security system”, defined as “any telecommunications or information system operated by Federal Government or any contractor on its behalf including those working on “cryptologic activities related to national security.”

The draft calls for a “review of the principal US cyber adversaries” and has implications for the National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense. Moreover, the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the DHS would be instructed to gather and review information from the Department of Education as to what students are learning about cybersecurity in school, implying a degree of coordination between military, federal law enforcement, and schools.

Cyberspace New Domain Of Engagement

The draft executive order reads: “The cyber realm is undergoing constant, rapid change as a result of the pace of technological innovation, the explosive global growth in Internet use, the increasing interdependencies between the networks and the operations of infrastructure and key economic institutions. As a result of these changes, cyberspace has emerged as a new domain of engagement, comparable in significance to land, sea, air and space, and its significance will increase in the years ahead.”

The Bitcoin world was enthused when President-elect Trump picked Bitcoin-believer Peter Thiel to head his transition team on matters of science and technology. Mr. Thiel, recently ousted as a New Zealand citizen based on his “exceptional circumstances”, then tapped Bitcoin company 21 Inc founder Balaji Srinivasan as a candidate to lead a potential reorganization of the Food and Drug Administration. Upon being considered for the position, Mr. Srinivasan promptly deleted his Twitter history.

CNN interpreted the executive order on cybersecurity as a move to “consolidate responsibility for protecting the government from hackers,” though, as is the order of the day, Mr. Trump said he would put the head of federal agencies and departments responsible for any hacks that transpire under their watch.

Interestingly, the draft executive order fails to mention the role of the FBI, which has publicly played a role in numerous Bitcoin-related investigations, nor the CIA in the nation’s cybersecurity framework.

What do you expect from the Trump Administration on Bitcoin? Let us know in the comments below.

Images via Shutterstock

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